


at the speed of laughter

by ifreet



Category: Star Trek (2009)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-01-13
Updated: 2010-01-13
Packaged: 2017-10-12 09:44:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/123544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ifreet/pseuds/ifreet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Scotty is oblivious, and Sulu is actually a fencer.  Loosely connected to <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/123496">shift change (Doves)</a> and <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/123513">several stardates (Geese)</a>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	at the speed of laughter

**Author's Note:**

  * For [izzybeth](https://archiveofourown.org/users/izzybeth/gifts).



Scotty stared up at the stars and wondered if _this_ was the moment when he would have realized that space itself must be the moving variable. When Mister Future Ambassador had written out the formula for transwarp beaming and declared that he, Montgomery Scott, had been the one to figure it out -- well, that had been pretty cool. And it had solved the problem of getting Kirk back aboard the Enterprise, though his own arrival had been less than ideal.

The problem was, he hadn't _really_ discovered it, had he? Sure, the formula had his name on it and had probably eased the way for his promotion, but...

It wasn't the same.

A web of skywalks cut off his line of sight. He tried to backtrack to the open sky, only to be brought up short. He'd been sent on shore leave against his wishes -- _I don't care how much you love this ship, Mr. Scott, you are taking a break even if I have to order you to go_ \-- so it was only fair that he was being dragged back against his wishes. "I wasn't done," he said, very reasonably.

"Yes, you were," Ensign Sulu replied, pulling his arm tighter over his shoulders.

"No, I wasn't." He was sure of that. He'd been getting good and maudlin in that bar, but if he'd had to leave, he should be allowed to stare at the stars. He wasn't entirely sure who'd sent Sulu after him; he'd have expected one of the engineers, not bridge crew.

Sulu ignored him which was neither fair nor any fun. Sulu guided him to the transporter pads and hailed the Enterprise. A moment later, Scotty was looking at a very familiar wall. He smiled and patted it. "Did you miss me?"

Sulu shook his head which rubbed ticklish against Scotty's arm. Then he pulled him away from the transporters into the halls. They ran into Commander Spock near the turbolift. Well, not ran into -- Sulu kept a tight grip around his waist to prevent it -- so much as saw him.

"Hey," Scotty said, remembering that he was angry with Spock. One of the Spocks. Whatever. He swayed right into Spock's face (more or less) and announced, "It's the journey that's important, jerk."

Spock's eyebrow went up in that way he used to react to half of everything, and he looked to Sulu. Sulu mouthed something -- Scotty knew he was being talked about -- and Spock nodded and slipped past them.

"Destination's just cake," Scotty muttered and let Sulu herd him into the turbolift and up to his quarters.

***

The best ventilation system in the universe could not keep a gym from smelling vaguely of sweat. Scotty's nose wrinkled as the humid air engulfed him. He wasn't a huge fan of gyms, but extended time in artificial gravity meant that working out was not optional. In principle, the artificial gravity was equivalent to Earth's. In practice, moving around dirtside took effort after a few weeks among the stars. And they'd been traveling together for more than a few weeks and would continue for many, many more, he and his ship.

A clashing sound and a short buzzer burst came from the far side of the room. He looked over, startled, but the others in his line of sight barely reacted. The games space lay over there; the noise must have been connected to a sport, not an imminent problem. He wandered over to verify that theory and calm his still pounding pulse.

Looking around the barrier to prevent stray balls, birds, and so forth from interfering with others' work-outs, he spied a couple of crewmen in white jackets and white knickers, with masks over their heads that obscured their faces. Fencers. Huh. Each held one of the sport's facsimile weapons, long and thin, extended almost straight out ahead of them as they shuffled back and forth. It looked a little like dancing, as one spiraled the tip of the weapon down and around towards the base of the other's -- to be knocked aside with another clang, followed by a darting move towards the first one's foot. Another buzzer sounded, and a wall panel flashed green. They stepped apart and pulled off their masks. One of the crewmen turned out to be a crewwoman, dark hair sticking to her face in curls. The other was Ensign Sulu.

"Next time," he said, voice filled with warning, but eyes laughing.

"Oh, I'm ready for you," she replied with a smile and made a sort of saluting gesture with the weapon, which she handed to Sulu before heading for the changing rooms.

She had to pass Scotty to leave which drew Sulu's attention to him. He smiled and hefted the weapons. "You want to have a go?"

"I wouldn't have the first clue," Scotty replied. Sulu grinned and put the weapons into storage and shut down the scoring system. A light pattern on the floor went dark.

"I'd offer to teach you, but Lennox just wiped the floor with me. I'm beat."

"I didn't know you fenced," Scotty said. Then he amended, "Well, I didn't know you _fence_ fenced."

Sulu's eyebrows came together, then his expression cleared. "You've been talking with the captain."

He nodded.

Sulu scrubbed a hand through his hair, making pieces stick up in spikes. He looked a touch chagrined. "Well, I was yanking his chain. I've studied a couple martial arts. People seem to take the other ones as a given, which is irritating. So I usually say I fence, just for the reaction. I wasn't really thinking about it."

Scotty laughed.

"He wasn't the captain at the time," Sulu pointed out, then gave into a smile of his own.

"I do like your style, Sulu," he said and turned back to the rest of the gym.

"It's Hikaru." He glanced back. Sulu shrugged. "Off-duty."

"Then I like your style, Hikaru," he corrected, and Hikaru's smile broadened.

***

Hikaru had an uncanny knack for finding him at shared shift changes and dragging him off to meals or holo-shows. Okay, it probably wasn't uncanny; his schedule wouldn't be difficult to learn and the engineering duty roster clearly identified where he'd be working. But it didn't dawn on Scotty that Hikaru might be intentionally seeking him out for... well, at least a couple weeks.

Even then, he didn't think much of it. Hikaru was good company, with a surprisingly sharp sense of humor, and he enjoyed spending time with him. It wasn't until he started catching the slantwise, knowing looks from crewmates that he thought about why.

Scotty had been working in main engineering before Hikaru found him. Scotty leaned back against the curved wall of the turbolift as Hikaru stepped in beside him. Once the doors shut they should have 37 seconds of privacy, provided no one called the lift from an intervening deck. Hikaru selected the deck and leaned beside him, an inch of air between them.

"So when exactly did you plan on telling me that we're dating?" Scotty asked, watching Hikaru out of the corner of his eye. It was enough to catch the small, slightly smug smile.

"I thought you said it was the journey that was important." He turned towards him.

"What? I did not." Scotty moved to mirror him, and that inch felt much, much smaller.

The door slid open. Hikaru nodded solemnly and pushed away from the wall. "The destination is cake."

Scotty had a hazy, twisty memory of saying something similar once. To an officer. While drunk. He'd been trying to forget it, actually. And he had definitely not been talking about _this_ at the time. "You are such a jerk."

"You like it."

"Well, obviously," he replied as he followed.

***

The Enterprise was more than a vessel. More than a Constitution class starship. She was Scotty's lady, his best girl, his pride and joy. He couldn't love her more if he'd built her himself. Which he practically had -- they'd asked the impossible of her, and she'd delivered but at a steep cost to herself. Once she'd been hauled back to dock, Scotty had spent weeks working with the repair crew to fix everything, down to the last scuff mark. As a result, Scotty knew the Enterprise better than the back of his hand. Hell, he knew her even better than the palm of his hand -- with which he'd developed a close and personal relationship on Delta Vega.

If he had any complaint about the Enterprise -- and it wasn't a complaint, mind, so much as an observation -- it was that there were too many people aboard. Every corridor, every hallway, everywhere. Yes, he'd missed the company on Delta Vega, but it was possible to over-correct, and they were never going to make it to his quarters if people kept stopping them to chat.

Eventually, he had given up and pulled Hikaru into the nearest jeffries access.

Scotty panted into Hikaru's neck, one hand still wrapped around them both, the other pressed against the bulkhead holding them up and space out. He patted it absently.

Hikaru's head turned towards that hand, and he laughed once, a bit breathlessly. "Please tell me we did not just have a threesome with the ship."

"Of course not," Scotty said with mock affront, then directed his next words at the bulkhead. "Don't listen to him, baby. He's just jealous."

Scotty tried, he did, but they both ended up on the floor. Hikaru's laughter was contagious.


End file.
